Australian National Diabetes Strategy 2016-2020

The Australian Government has developed a new National Diabetes Strategy, to update and prioritise the national response to diabetes across all levels of government.

Page last updated: 12 January 2018

The Australian Government developed the Australian National Diabetes Strategy (the Strategy), to update and prioritise the national response to diabetes across all levels of government.

The Strategy is a high-level document that contains a number of goals and potential areas for action that provide a range of ideas for implementation to achieve each goal.

The Strategy seeks to prioritise Australia’s response to diabetes and its complications and comorbidities, and to reduce the impact of diabetes in the community. Specifically, it aims to evaluate current approaches to diabetes services and care; maximise the efficient use of existing, limited health care resources; better coordinate health care resources across all levels of government; and focus resources where they are needed most. It will not replace or override existing processes established by the Australian health system for assessing the safety, quality and cost-effectiveness of new medicines, devices, tests and procedures. The Strategy presents a range of opportunities for jurisdictions to partner with the Commonwealth to develop and support approaches for diabetes prevention and control.

Implementation Plan for the Strategy

Diabetes in Australia: Focus on the Future is the Implementation Plan (the Plan) for the Strategy. The Plan has been developed by a jurisdictional Implementation Working Group (IWG) through the Australian Health Ministers’ Advisory Council’s (AHMAC) Community Care and Population Health Principal Committee. The IWG comprised of members from each jurisdiction, as well as representatives from the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Standing Committee, the National Health and Medical Research Council, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare and the New Zealand Ministry of Health.

The Plan aims to operationalise each of the Strategy’s goals and represents the first tranche of activities identified as a priority by governments. The Plan identifies priority diabetes-related actions that include addressing gaps in current diabetes direction and investment, minimising duplication of effort across all sectors and to ensure the current focus of activity across sectors remains strong and relevant into the future. The actions outlined in the Plan have been agreed by all jurisdictions as activities that at this time can be developed, expanded or modified to produce targeted, tangible improvements in the prevention, early detection, management and care of all forms of diabetes. The Plan has been informed by targeted online consultation and independent, clinical advice from the former NDSAG co-chairs and members.

The development of the Plan should guide the Commonwealth, state and territory governments in planning and directing funding in a cost effective and sustainable way to improve the health of all Australians, specifically to prevent people developing diabetes and/or minimising the risks of complications associated with diabetes.

The Plan was endorsed by the AHMAC on 9 November 2017 and publicly released on 19 December 2017